Tag: Rockhaven

Handmade Recyclable Wedding at Rockhaven by Nicole Rich {Melissa & Jürgen}

by gaby

And I’m back! Not quite at a hundred percent, but so much better. As much as I missed sharing pretty weddings with you this week, it was good to have a few days to recover – as a small business owner, it’s easy to lose sight of giving yourself some time off (hello, weekends, what are those?). But I couldn’t let the whole week go without a wedding, because at the end of the day, sharing these beauties – and more importantly, sharing in the excitement that comes from each bride and groom we feature! – is what makes my job awesome and totally worthwhile. Today’s couple are the lovely Melissa & Jürgen, who pulled off a beautiful country wedding brimming over with proteas and pops of colour against the rustic surroundings, all with an eye on keeping things eco friendly, locally sourced, and easy to recycle. It was definitely a case of waste not, want not, since despite the green focus, nothing was wanting in prettiness and atmosphere! Nicole Rich was on the scene, taking these lovely pics.Read More

Summer Garden Party Wedding at Rockhaven by Love Made Visible {Caroline & Luke}

by gaby

It’s a wonderful thing when we get to feature a wedding by Love Made Visible. This power couple not only have an eye for the gorgeous details that I love so much, but more importantly for the emotional details and little moments that really make a wedding day so heartwarming. I always get the feels looking at their documentary-style pics, and that was just the case when I came across Caroline and Luke’s softly rustic, travel-themed wedding. I especially love the way this wedding feels like a 1920s summer garden party, with peach-garbed bridesmaids (with just a touch of Gatsby sparkle), groomsmen in boaters, and the bride in an incredibly elegant Jenny Packham. A happy day for them, and now a happy day for us!Read More

Chic White Winter Wedding at Rockhaven by Kristi Agier {Ashton & Nic}

by gaby

There’s just something especially beautiful about winter isn’t there? As much as I adore carefree summer days, winter has a special coziness and intimacy, a sense of sparkling snowy romance that’s straight out of Dr Zhivago (even if most of South Africa doesn’t actually have any snow). That’s why I love that more of you are planning winter weddings these days. And if you were in any doubt, you just have to look to today’s sophisticated soiree, in shades of white and cream for inspiration. From bridesmaids in sleek little white dresses (LOVE this look) and on-trend long sleeved lace for the beautiful bride, to lush white blooms with touches of gold and lots of clear glass on the tables, it perfectly reflects the clear winter sunshine outside Rockhaven’s rustic walls, as well as the glow of love and joy within. The lovely Kristi Agier was on the scene to capture each special moment for ever and always.Read More

Italian Inspired Rockhaven Wedding by The Picturess & Bright and Beautiful {Debra & Chris}

by gaby

How is it already a year since I was in Italy? Those weeks on a vineyard in southern Tuscany were absolute bliss, and I’ve been missing Italy soooo much recently  (especially since every Instagram account I follow seemed to have an Italian trip this year, jealous is not the word!) But today I get to flirt with my love of Italy again, with this lovely little Rockhaven wedding sent over by the talented bunch at Bright and Beautiful, which was inspired by the groom’s Italian heritage. I just love the way that a fresh white and green palette was used – especially the ferns, so pretty! – and all the fun little activities that the couple set up for their guests (including a vespa ‘photo booth’), not to mention Cinzano and Prosecco cocktail hour! Leanne Evans, the Picturess, was there to capture every lovely moment of la bella vita.Read More

Real Wedding at Rockhaven {Liana & Chris}

by gaby

It’s a very special day here on SouthBound Bride when we get to share the wedding of one of our friends, and I feel like that’s what today’s bride has become. Not just to me, but to all of us who have followed along with her story through our Real Life Bride series. Liana’s been our ‘bride abroad’, planning her South African wedding from Europe as so many of you do, gathering inspiration from some of our home country’s top suppliers and dreaming up the perfect mix of rustic and classic wedding loveliness. I’ve been dying to see her beautiful pictures from the fab dna photographers – they were just as heartfelt and lovely as I was expecting, and now I finally get to share them with you! Vair, vair exciting. So here we go! And just in case you missed any of it, you can follow Liana’s complete wedding journey right here.Read More

Real Wedding at Rockhaven {Emily & Bruce}

by gaby

Something I love about my life, and the way that life has turned out for many of my friends, is that we’re all kind of… international. Every time I attend a wedding, there’s a mix of nationalities there, and many of my friends have married outside the South African circle or spent extended time living overseas. People live all over the place, and they move around. Sure, it makes it harder to see everyone (am I the only one who has total envy of the HIMYM crowd for being able to see their besties at McLaren’s all the time?), but it also makes occasions like weddings into reunions and introductions and mixers – a chance not only to spend quality time with wonderful people and re-live old memories, but to make new ones, and meet new people, and get a 360 degree view of a couple’s multi-faceted life. The world, vast and strange as it is, is really rather small. Today’s couple are evidence of that in more ways than one. Not only was their wedding very much an international affair, the small world part is that Bruce’s best man happens to be my cousin. Which is how Emily became a SouthBound Bride, and found her venue and suppliers. It feels a little like I’m celebrating with friends, and it’s especially wonderful to be showcasing the great work of some of my favourite suppliers – Theresa Lazarevic of Creation Events, who co-ordinated the whole wedding brilliantly, Catherine Mac who as usual outdid herself with the photos, and Rockhaven, always a picture perfect rustic venue. I could get into how lovely it all is, but Catherine’s pics and Theresa’s decor really do speak for themselves, so I’ll let you get to sighing over it all!Read More

Real Wedding at Rockhaven {Marené & Jaco}

by gaby

Who’d be a matchmaker, eh? For the most part, introducing two friends is a disaster. Sometimes it works but mostly it doesn’t, and there’s always the risk that your friend will feel that the person you choose for them shows how little you know them at all. It’s certainly never been my forté, but the hero of today’s wedding story is a guy who really did know a friend well enough to spot the woman of his dreams when he met her, and to introduce them. Impressive. And hey presto! Just a few years later, you have this beautiful wedding, complete with proteas and bicycles and general awesomeness. I love the chalkboard details (especially the place mats) and the printed words-as-decor runners, the soft pink bridesmaid dresses, and the bicycle boutonnieres. And I’m especially in love with Catherine Mac‘s beautiful pictures, which as always really capture the essence of the day and the couple in glorious colour!Read More

Inspiration Board: Mint & Peach

by gaby

It’s inspiration board day, and I have a little feeling you guys are going to looooove this one. First off, mint and peach are pretty much a combination made in colour palette heaven, and they just happen to be what I think will turn out to be the colours of the year. Peach brings warmth (but gentle, like) and mint brings cool with a hint of sweetness, like a sip of ice-cold lemonade on a sunny day. Reader Tam wrote in to tell me about her wedding using these colours, and she used words like ‘relaxed’, ‘romantic’, ‘elegant’ and ‘less is more’. With beautifully rustic Rockhaven as her summer venue, I immediately pictured a wedding that was soft and flowey (for want of a better word!) – very much Beth Helmsetter/Style Me Pretty/Jose Villa. Flowers are important, and I adore both the bouquet and the table arrangement on this board (notice how apart from the lemonade, the flowers do most of the work on this table – gorgeous cutlery, crockery and other details become a bonus rather than the main event). Bridesmaids wear long, loose dresses in peach, with a garland for the flower girls (who I’d put in simple white cotton dresses and leave barefoot). Guests are served cool cocktails and iced biscuits, before having their photos taken in front of a pretty mint ribbon backdrop in the gardens during cocktail hour. For the stationery, I’d definitely make use of the current trend for hand-painted watercolour – less is definitely more in this stunning suite. The concepts are simple, the execution is perfect, and it all adds up to a shedload of pretty. Hope you like your board, Tam!

Colours: Mint, peach and white

Top row (l-r): Barefoot bridesmaid {Clary Photo}; mint lemonade {Bryllupsglimt}; mint shoes {Lane Dittoe}; peach bridesmaids’ dresses {Leo Patrone Photography}; peach bouquet {Jill La Fleur/Flower Wild}
Row 2: Table setting {Jessica Lorren Organic Photography}; peach watercolour invitation {Minted}; sugar cookies {Paige + Blake Green}; rose biscuits & rose yoghurt {Food & Cook}
Row 3: Mint ribbon backdrop {J.R. Clubb/Ryan Farr}; peach cocktail {onelove photography/Stephanie Grace Designs}; bridesmaids {Joy Thigpen/Jose Villa}; cake {KT Merry/Nine Cakes}; flower girl {KT Merry Photography}.

 

Real Wedding at Rockhaven {Nicola & Andre}

by gaby

Well, here’s a wedding unlike any I’ve seen before! From the moment Andre and Selma of Expressions Photography sent over a pic of Nicola and her bridesmaids, I was hooked. Nicola and Andre – varsity sweethearts – got engaged in India. So even though neither has Indian heritage, they decided to have an Indian-themed wedding. In the Cape winelands. With a rabbi (even though neither is Jewish either). It’s slightly barmy, but you know what, I love it. It’s so full of colour and light and fun. You look at their friends – dressed in saris or playing croquet or dancing Bollywood style – and it’s clear everyone’s having the best time and that this is one wedding that’s gone down in the record books. And you look at Nicola and Andre’s faces as they promise to spend their lives together, and it’s obvious that they are meant for each other. And that, my friends, is what a wedding’s all about.Read More

A Bride Abroad #3: The Venue

by gaby

When you start planning your wedding, friends and guides will tell you there are three things you need to book first: venue, DJ and photographer; the first of these being the venue. Finding one in the Western Cape is not a difficult task – they are there in abundance! Finding the right venue for your wedding (and that from a distance) = not so simple. More so if you’re picky. And Chris and I are picky. Boy, are we picky!

We had a whole list of requirements. The venue had to be beautiful, of course. It had to be a one-stop venue with ceremony and reception site in one place. It had to have onsite catering and accommodation. It had to be available until after twelve. The chairs at the venue had to be nice so that they didn’t have to be covered (I despise a seat cover). Linen, crockery and cutlery had to be included in the venue hire. And, last but not least, it needed to be available for the date we had chosen. Well, that narrowed down the search all right!

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